THE hidden industries of the Forest and the changing remains of our heritage are the theme for a new exhibition by Mitcheldean photographer Mike Walter.

He says he has gone back to the old fashioned method of shooting on film, because he wanted to slow down his work and put more thought into each shot.

Mike grew up in Ruspidge and teaches at the Royal Forest of Dean College.

He put together the exhibition with the support of his colleagues Bob Cytlau and Karen Morris.

He said: "A lot of my students don't see the Forest in the same way that older people do, and I'm really interested in the changing uses and views of our history. It is something I started years ago as I have always been interested in history.

"I am quite interested to see the difference between the landscape even 15 years ago, when I started the project with the way things look today."

Averil Kear, of the Forest of Dean Local History Society, helped Mike to find increasingly obscure locations for his shots and to uncover some hidden secrets.

Mike said: "When I was at school, I used to run 50m away from a derelict iron mine and had no idea that it was there. I want people to find this same sense of discovery when they look at my work."

One of his pictures shows a copse of trees gradually taking over Shakemantle Quarry in Ruspidge.

Mike said: "When I was a child, I used to ride my bike here and it was completely open. The quarry closed in the late 60s and the trees have now taken it over.

"But it's not all decay – for example, Hopewell Colliery has been restored and other places are used for different purposes like leisure and tourism.

"Health and safety issues have led to a lot of mine shafts being capped – so things are always changing and nature will eventually take back the land. I also want people to remember the amount of people's lives, time and energy invested in these sites."

The exhibition opens on February 21 (11am to 7pm) at Centrespace Gallery, 6 Leonard Lane, Bristol. It includes contemporary photography from 11 other photographers on a course at the University of Wales. He hopes to show more of his work in the Forest later in the year.